China, Kenya advance shared future

China and Kenya agreed on Thursday to elevate their ties to a China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era, vowing to continue to deepen and expand exchanges and cooperation across the board in the face of new circumstances.

The decision was made during talks between President Xi Jinping and Kenyan President William Ruto, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday night for a five-day visit, his third state visit to China since taking office in 2022.

The two heads of state witnessed the signing of 20 cooperation documents in areas such as the Belt and Road Initiative, new and high technology, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, economy and trade, and media.

In a joint statement released after the talks, the two sides expressed firm opposition to new hegemonic tools such as unlawful unilateral sanctions, decoupling, tariff barriers and technology blockades, and they stressed their commitment to bringing more stability to the world with the certainty of China-Africa unity and cooperation.

During the meeting, Xi told Ruto that the upgrading of bilateral relations is a strategic choice for both sides.

"In the face of a complex and changing international landscape, China is willing to work together with Kenya to be in line with the trend of history and the times, to create a model for building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and to lead the development of China-Africa relations and the solidarity and cooperation of the Global South," he said.

Since China and Kenya established diplomatic relations in 1963, bilateral ties have witnessed progress in various fields including trade and economy, culture, education and tourism.

Today, China is Kenya's largest trading partner and the biggest source of its imports, while Kenya is China's biggest trading partner in East Africa.

The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya, a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, has created thousands of jobs for local people and enabled the seamless mobility of people and cargo since its inception in 2017.

Noting that joint building of the Belt and Road has become a shining example of China-Kenya cooperation, Xi urged the two sides to further facilitate regular policy coordination, high-level connectivity, unimpeded and sustainable trade, diversified financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties across generations, thereby serving as pacesetters for advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

China's supersized market is always open to high-quality Kenyan products, and China encourages more capable Chinese enterprises to invest and start businesses in Kenya, he said.